1. Field of Disclosure
The present disclosure of invention relates to a photonic sensor such as one that can be monolithically integrated into a repeated pixel unit of a display device (e.g., an LCD device). The present disclosure also relates to a method of manufacturing the sensor, to a color filter substrate having the same, and to a display device having the color filter substrate with sensor included. More particularly, example embodiments relate to a monolithically integrated photonic sensor that is structured for reducing cost and power consumption of the display device, to a method of manufacturing the same, to a color filter substrate having the same, and to a display device having the color filter substrate.
2. Description of Related Technology
Among flat panel display devices, the liquid crystal display (LCD) device has advantages such as ability to make the display relatively thin, of light weight, of low power consumption etc. Thus the LCD device is widely used as a display device such as for a TV or computer monitor, a laptop computer display, a cellular phone display, etc. The LCD device includes an LCD panel for displaying an image by modulating a light transmittance characteristic (e.g., polarization attribute) of liquid crystal molecules, and typically by using a backlight unit disposed under the LCD panel to provide the LCD panel with backlighting light.
The LCD panel typically comprises two spaced apart substrates, namely, a switching elements array substrate and an opposite substrate with a liquid crystal material layer being interposed between the array substrate and the opposite substrate. The array substrate typically includes a plurality of crossing signal lines, a plurality of switching elements such as thin-film transistors and a plurality of corresponding pixel electrodes whose charge states are controlled by data signals passed through respective ones of the signal lines and respective ones of the switching elements. The opposite substrate faces the array substrate, and typically includes a common electrode that provides a so-called common voltage in opposition to voltages stored on the pixel-electrodes of the switching elements array substrate.
The LCD panel may be provided with various integral functions such as that of a touch panel structured to determine and produce touch position data in response to an external touch. That is, the produced position data may be supplied to a data processing unit (e.g., CPU) of an intercoupled main system when the LCD panel is touched by an electronic pen or by a human finger and the data processing unit may then respond according to drive software driving that data processing unit.
Among the different kinds of integral position determining functions included in the LCD panel there may be an infrared ray detecting function provided to function as part of the touch panel functions. When the infrared ray (IR) function is included, the touch panel will include an infrared ray generation device (e.g., IR pen) and an IR position detecting device. The infrared ray generation device is structured to generate infrared rays that are to be irradiated to the LCD panel while being influenced by the user. The detecting device detects the infrared rays generated from the infrared ray generation device. In one embodiment of the infrared ray method, when a finger or any other object touches a portion of the LCD panel, the infrared rays irradiated to the touched portion are intercepted (blocked by the pointing finger), and the detecting device detects the location of the intercepted infrared rays (in other words, the edges of their shadows) to thereby sense the position of the touched portion of the screen.
For accurate position determination however, a large number of infrared ray generation devices and detecting devices are often necessary so that the point of touch may be more accurately determined. Thus, power consumption of the touch panel and its supporting infrastructure is increased and a cost for manufacturing the touch panel is increased as more IR sources are added and used.